Mike Denos and his partner Jean La Borie in front of their home (left) in Vancouver. The house next door has been recently rebuilt in a lengthy and disruptive process that they say caused damage to their property.

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With so much redevelopment happening in Vancouver, some neighbours are objecting to interminable construction hours, privacy intrusions and Porta-Potties in their midst.

Dunbar homeowner Michael Denos writes: “I think it’s time the City of Vancouver brought some order to the wild west of house construction in this city.”

He and his partner, Jean La Borie, want city officials themselves either to become more responsive to neighbours’ concerns about redevelopment or appoint a municipal ombudsman for such a purpose.

Denos says excavation and construction on the West 22nd property next door to his home went on for two years. He reports suffering damage to his fencing and gardening equipment, and to his front curb. He presented a bill to the developer, to no avail.

When the couple subsequently complained to the city, “We were told we’d have to work out our problems with the contractor. They offered no assistance.”

The city also told the Denos the curb damage “is of a minor nature and acceptable to Engineering Services.” It further instructed: “Continued maintenance of the boulevard is the responsibility of homeowners on the block.”

Disruption due to new construction is a significant issue. Vancouver issued nearly 1,100 demolition permits last year, resulting in the bulldozing of many older homes.

A protest was held downtown recently, by “citizens protesting the ongoing destruction of our neighbourhoods,” as the group’s press release put it. One organizer of the demonstration was Caroline Adderson, whose Facebook page, Vancouver Vanishes, documents West Side demolitions.

While politicians talk a good line about Vancouver’s livability, they do not appear to extend that concept to the residential neighbourhoods that are being disrupted by the ongoing construction bonanza.

Clearly, with 5,000 new residents a year, Vancouver needs its builders. But, it appears, a better balance of competing interests is required.

Bob De Wit, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association, said a system of financial compensation for neighbours disturbed by construction — perhaps an up-front compensatory payment for households on each side of the construction — would only add cost, lessening affordability.

Commenting on construction noise — from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on workdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays — De Wit says an accommodation must be struck between business interests and NIMBYism. But these days many people work from home, making construction noise more of an issue.

Guy Provencher recently wrote the city to complain about a Nicola Street construction project that has dragged on for 2-1/2 years. The City responded: “Unfortunately, we do not have jurisdiction over the pace of construction or why it would take so long to complete.”

And, as new structures emerge, neighbours often find privacy they once had on their properties gone, with intrusive windows or roof lines blocking sunshine.

CityHallWatch, a website pushing for fair municipal decision making and greater public accountability, says many Vancouverites “have learned from experience that, when it comes to demolition and construction, the (building) bylaw is strongly written in favour of developers.

“Protections for livability, safety and peace of mind are seriously lacking.”

The website, operated by 2011 mayoral candidate Randy Helten, cites noise, dust, hazardous material, heavy equipment traffic and ground vibrations as being associated with the demolitions and new construction now so prevalent in the city, and instructs: “You may need to organize to have your voices heard.”

Meanwhile, Denos, in Dunbar, has learned another house near his home is slated for demolition. “I do not plan to be a cooperative neighbour.”

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